Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc drove to victory in the Austrian F1 race. Teammate Carlos Sainz’s car was startled by the fire. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was narrowly out of the World Championship points.
STT Sports,
Matti Lehtisaari
18:16•Updated 19:07
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc drove a dramatic victory in the Austrian GP of the Formula 1 World Series. Leclerc overtook the pole position starter Max Verstappen’s on lap 12, but he had to contend with the car’s erratic gas pedal at the end of the race.
Leclerc complained on the pit phone that the gas pedal felt strange and hung up. The problem also hindered the operation of the gearbox, when the gas was not fully released in the slow parts of the track.
– Frightened. I was really scared, Leclerc sighed on the Viaplay broadcast into the pit phone after crossing the finish line.
Otherwise, the race was well under Leclerc’s control after a decisive overtake. He lost the top spot twice to Verstappen after pit stops, but both times quickly got back to the top.
– The pace was good and the competition was good in that way. And it was a good fight with Max, Leclerc stated in the track interview.
– I really needed this win.
Leclerc won the first and third races of the season, but has since experienced technical problems and two suspensions, among others.
Verstappen has tire problems
Verstappen, who leads the World Series, finished second in the race with Red Bull, a bit lucky. Carlos Sainz was about to overtake him for second when Sainz’s Ferrari broke down and caught fire near the track.
– Difficult day. There were difficulties with the tires every time, Verstappen was upset with the V Sport 1.
– However, second place was a very good result.
Verstappen in the WC lead, Leclerc second
Verstappen still leads the World Series. He has 208 points in the middle of the series and 170 points with second place Leclerc.
Mercedes’ seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton came third in the Austrian competition. The task was made easier by Sainz and Verstappen’s teammate by Sergio Perez interruptions.
Perez, who dropped to third in the World Series, crashed Hamilton’s teammate in the first lap of George Russell with, was at the tail end of the group and stopped the journey at the beginning of the race.
Condemned to the last starting grid due to a power unit change Valtteri Bottas started the race with Alfa Romeo on tactical grounds from the pit. He managed to rise from the tail of the race to the points until Alpine’s veteran driver Fernando Alonso dropped him to 11th in the final moments.